Floral Bath Salts

These bath salts make an amazing bath and are very rewarding after a long day at school, work or looking after the kids! Epsom salts are the main ingredient to these bath salts, hence the name. These can be purchased at your local pharmacy or soap supplies shop. Baking soda. Now if you have sensitive skin I suggest leaving this out although your salts won't work as well without them. But don't worry! Many times I have forgotten this and they still work amazingly! Also you'll need dried flower petals. You can make your own or buy them from you local craft or soap supplies shop such as  Spotlight. I dried my own but whatever is convenient for you! The Picture below is of salts I made and packaged for an old teacher (a fellow soap maker and awesome teacher) Mrs Holloway.




Floral Bath Salts

1 Cup Epsom Salts
2 Tablespoons Baking Soda
1/3 Cup Dried Flower Petals
Essential or Fragrant Oil (Use The Same Fragrance As Your Petals)
Liquid Soap Colorant (or small amounts of food colouring)

Method:

In a bowl mix Epsom Salts and Baking Soda.
Add Flower Petals and mix gently.
Add Essential/Fragrant oil and Colour to your preference.
Place in a jar, bag, or box and decorate.
Enjoy!

Note:
This make great gifts for friends and family.

Tip:
If you are going to mix petals try scents that compliment each other, such as violet and lavender or hibiscus and rose.

Sugar Scrub Bars

Finally I believe it's time to make some sugar scrub bars. Now again we come to that fabulous thing that has saved many people's eyebrows before me, Melt and Pour soap. I know, I know I rave on about this stuff but it really is amazing. As well being safe to use, nothing can possibly go wrong! And when you make soap with lye it has to be 100% sodium hydroxide, which I can tell you is not easy to find in NZ. Once I find some I promise that I will make some proper soap but for now let's keep it simple. Another part of this recipe is sugar. I know what you're all thinking 'Duh, Hanna.' But I still wanted to add it here. Then we have silicone moulds, essential oils and vuala, you have soap.



Sugar Scrub Bars

Silicone Moulds
450grams (16 ounces) white melt and pour soap
1-1 1/2 cups sugar (any kind will do)
Essential or Fragrant oils (I used peppermint)
Soap Colorant (or small amounts food colouring)

Method:
Chop Melt and Pour soap into chunks.
Melt in microwave in 30 second bursts.
Add sugar and mix well.
Add your essential/fragrant oils and colour to your preference.
Allow to set in moulds.

Note:
If you want to have a more diverse soap try different exfoliant such as coffee grounds or arrowroot powder or Himalayan pink salt.

Tip:
Add sugars that complement your scent. Such as using brown sugar with vanilla, lavender sugar with lavender, caster sugar with peppermint or even raw sugar with coffee.

'Bee' Aware Soap

This is a soap that I made for Bee awareness week, because of recent you may of heard that bees having been put on the endangered species list. This is unacceptable. Our world would die without bees. Did you know that our world could only survive for 3-4 months without them? Crazy right? So let's show a little support for these guys, after all, we wouldn't be here without them. OK, down to business. This soap, like my earlier post 'Exfoliating Vanilla Latte Soap' uses melt and pour soap base. Also you will need beeswax, which can often be found at honey stores or craft stores. And of course the luxurious honey. Any will do but I prefer 'Manuka'.



'Bee' Aware Soap

Silicone loaf pan
450grams (16 ounces) white or clear melt and pour soap
100grams Beeswax (I used unbleached)
3 tablespoons honey (of your preference)

Method:
Chop Melt and Pour soap into chunks.
Melt in microwave in 30 second bursts.
Once melted add beeswax and melt for an extra 30 seconds.
Stir until beeswax dissolves (you may need and extra 30 seconds in the microwave).
Add honey and stir until combined.
Pour into loaf pan and allow to set.

Note:
Using clear melt and pour soap will allow your soap to be the natural colour of the beeswax.

Tip:
Before pouring your soap into the loaf pan, place bubble wrap, bubble side up inside the loaf pan to give it a honeycomb effect.

Jelly Soap

These little soaps are adorable and so much fun to make! These only take 5 ingredients! No lye, no hard to get ingredients and 100% DIY. These have powder gelatin which according to progressive health contains Collagen which is an essential material that is used to repair connective tissue (like nails, skin, hair, bone, and cartilage). Gelatin is the best source of collagen. Gelatin also contains essential amino acids that are difficult to find elsewhere. Convinced??? If not I don't know how anyone could convince you. OK, let's get making.

Homemade Jelly Soaps

Flexible moulds or jar

Hot but not quite boiling water

Powder Gelatin

Body wash

Essential or fragrant oil

Soap colourant or food colouring (small amounts WON'T dye your skin)

Method:

In a Pyrex jug mix two parts hot water with one part body wash.

Quickly add powder gelatin, three teaspoons to every 1/2 cup of water.

Add essential/fragrant oil and colorant/food colouring to your preference.

Pour into moulds or jar and set in a cool dry place.

Enjoy!

Note:

Do not set in fridge if possible. If you do this the jelly soaps will melt when they come out of the fridge because they're used to such a low temperature.

Tip:

When you are making jelly soaps in a jar, seal the lid whilst it's setting. This aids the setting and gives you a slightly harder jelly soap.

Exfoliating Vanilla Latte Soap

This recipe is made using melt and pour soap base for those of you who wish not to use lye. Personally, I cannot stand waiting for 4 weeks or more to cure. And this is also a recipe for those who like their eyebrows. So if you're not ready for lye, that's perfectly fine, for now we'll keep our eyebrows.

Exfoliating Vanilla Latte Soap

Silicone loaf pan

Coffee Grounds 

450grams (16 ounces) white or goats milk melt and pour soap

Vanilla essence

Rubbing alcohol 

Method: 

Spray loaf pan with rubbing alcohol.

In the loaf pan place coffee grounds evenly until 1cm thickness or to your preference.

Chop melt and pour soap into cubes or pieces and melt in microwave in 30 seconds bursts until melted.

Add vanilla essence to the soap until slightly tinted and scents your soap (or to your preference).

Pour enough soap to the loaf pan to just cover your coffee grounds.

Mix coffee grounds and soap together and even out again.

Carefully pour the rest of your soap into the loaf pan.

Spray LIGHTLY with rubbing alcohol.

Let to set in a cool dry place.

Cut to preferred sizes.

Note:

Coffee grounds will rise to the surface. This is OK!!! It will make an interesting and beautiful soap.

Tip:

If your soap starts to set before you add to loaf pan remelt in microwave in 15 second bursts. You may need to add more vanilla essence if you do this.